ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
Shri Dharmendra Pradhan emphasizes on a clean, efficient and affordable mobility system;
About 10,000 CNG stations to be in place; Bio-ATF and Bio-CNG policies to be formulated
The Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Shri Dharmendra Pradhan has emphasized on a clean, efficient and affordable mobility system. In his opening remarks at the Global Mobility Summit 2018 here today, he said that despite changing global trends, consumption of petrol and diesel in India is growing in excess of 5% per annum. Whatever be the scenario of the growth of Electric vehicles, India would still need higher refining capacities. To achieve cleaner emissions, the Minister added, India will leapfrog from BS-IV to BS-VI standards, and the NCT of Delhi has already switched to the better fuel since April this year. Shri Pradhan said the Government has already implemented fuel efficiency norms for commercial heavy vehicles.
Talking about the gas based transportation solutions, the Minister said that the use of CNG, LNG and Bio-CNG is being promoted in the sector, and there are plans in place to have about 10,000 CNG stations within a decade, covering over half of the country. On the issue of promoting LNG as a fuel for long distance transportation by heavy commercial vehicles, Shri Pradhan informed about the efforts being made by Public sector oil companies and some private enterprises in setting up LNG distribution infrastructure. He said that 12 bio-refineries are being set up and steps are being taken to achieve 10% ethanol blending. Soon, Bio-ATF and Bio-CNG policies will be formulated. Indian Oil has tied up with the Delhi Government to introduce 50 Hydrogen enriched CNG buses next year. On the issue of Electric Vehicles, Sh Pradhan said that there are challenges concerning setting up of infrastructure and economy of converting to EVs, and Inter-ministerial teams are working to put in place a comprehensive policy on the matter.
In the session, Mr Graham Stuart, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, UK, Dr Lam Pin Min, Senior Minister for Health and Transport, Singapore and Mrs Sindisiwe Chikunga, Deputy Minister of Transport, South Africa also participated. All of them outlined the trends and developments in the mobility sector in their respective countries. Mr Stuart appreciated the Indian Government’s efforts to provide LPG and Electricity to a large number of citizens.
YB
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Ministry of Earth Sciences
CYCLONE TAUKTAE UPDATE ON SEARCH AND RESCUE MISSIONS
Indian Naval Ships Beas, Betwa and Teg joined INS Kochi and Kolkata for undertaking Search and Rescue  operations for Barge P-305, which sank 35 nautical miles from Mumbai  SAR has also been augmented with P8I and naval helicopters, who continue to undertake aerial search in the area. Since the commencement of the SAR from PM 17 May 2021, 180 survivors have been recovered so far.
In another operation, an Indian Navy Seaking helicopter was launched to rescue crew of GAL Constructor, which ran aground North of Mumbai. The helo rescued 35 crew members of GAL Constructor.
SAR efforts are also in progress off the coast of Gujarat for three vessels namely Support Station 3, Great Ship Aditi and Drill Ship Sagar Bhushan, which are 15-20 nautical miles South East off Gujarat coast . INS Talwar has arrived in the area and taken over the duties of 'On-Scene Coordinator' for coordination of the SAR effort. The Western Naval Command, in coordination with ONGC and DG shipping, has diverted five tugs to render assistance. Great Ship Aditi and Support Station 3 have been able to drop anchor. Meanwhile, OSV’s Samudra Sevak and SV Cheel are connected to manoeuvre Sagar Bhushan, and the situation at present appears to be stable.
The sea continues to be extremely rough with sea state 4-5 and winds 25-30 knots , posing a challenge to the ships and aircraft involved in SAR operations
Ministry of Railways
Cabinet approves Seven Multi-tracking Projects totalling 2339 Kms. across Indian Railways, amounting to around Rs 32,500 crore
To increase the existing line capacity, smoothen train operations, reduce congestion and facilitate ease of travelling and transportation
Projects will generate direct employment for about 7.06 crore man-days during construction
Capacity augmentation works will result in additional freight traffic of magnitude 200 MTPA
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi today approved Seven projects of Ministry of Railways with estimated cost of around Rs.32,500 Crore, with 100% funding from Central Government. The proposals of Multi-tracking will ease operations and reduce congestion, providing the much required infrastructural development on the busiest sections across Indian Railways.
The projects covering 35 Districts in 9 States i.e. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by 2339 Kms. and will provide employment of 7.06 crore man-days to the people of the states.
The projects include:
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|
S.No.
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|
Name of the Project
|
|
Nature of the Project
|
|
1
|
|
Gorakhpur-Cantt-Valmiki Nagar
|
|
Doubling of existing line
|
|
2
|
|
Son Nagar-Andal Multi tracking Project
|
|
Multi Tracking
|
|
3
|
|
Nergundi-Barang and Khurda Road-Vizianagaram
|
|
3rd Line
|
|
4
|
|
Mudkhed-Medchal and Mahbubnagar-Dhone
|
|
Doubling of the existing line
|
|
5
|
|
Guntur-Bibinagar
|
|
Doubling of the existing line
|
|
6
|
|
Chopan-Chunar
|
|
Doubling of existing line
|
|
7
|
|
Samakhiali-Gandhidham
|
|
Quadrupling
These are essential routes for transportation of varied basket of commodities such as foodgrains, fertilizers, coal, cement, fly-ash, iron and finished steel, clinkers, crude oil, lime stone, edible oil etc. The capacity augmentation works will result in additional freight traffic of magnitude 200 MTPA . The Railways being environment friendly and energy efficient mode of transportation, will help both in achieving climate goals and for reducing logistics cost of the country.
The projects are in line with Prime Minister’s Vision of a New India which will make people of the region “Atmanirbhar” by creating Multi-tasking work force in the region and will enhance their employment/self employment opportunities.
The projects are result of PM-Gati Shakti National Master Plan for Multi-model connectivity which have been possible through integrated planning and will provide seamless connectivity for movement of people, goods and services.
Ministry of Defence
Government for promoting private industry investment in defence sector, says Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh
Defence Industry production at Rs 80,000 crore in 2018-19
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has voiced government’s desire to encourage private industry investment in defence sector while also strengthening defence PSUs and Ordnance Factory Board . Addressing CEOs of top Defence and Aerospace companies at a roundtable with the theme ‘Make in India in Defence Industry’ here today, Shri Rajnath Singh said defence companies have huge opportunities in contributing to domestic market in addition to exports.
Raksha Mantri said the strategic partnership model has been notified to establish defence manufacturing infrastructure and supply chain through which Indian companies could choose a partner through a competitive and transparent process. He added that FDI policy in defence sector has been liberalised.
Regarding the offset processing, Shri Rajnath Singh said the Ministry has set up an end-to-end offset processing portal through which proposals of value USD 1.5 billion were processed. Entry barriers for MSMEs were also reduced and this resulted in doubling of defence licenses issued from 215 in 2014 to 440 in 2019.
Raksha Mantri said the Defence Investor Cell established a year ago in the Ministry has processed nearly 550 queries and grievances.
While highlighting various measures initiated by the government to encourage defence exports, Shri Rajnath Singh urged the industry to work towards increasing exports to friendly countries. He said export procedure has been simplified and defence procurement procedure was revised in 2016 to encourage indigenous design, development and manufacture.
Raksha Mantri said self reliance in defence sector would not be possible without development of indigenous technology and called for steps to develop related technologies within the country. He said there is greater possibility now because the contribution of digital technologies in defence sector is on the upswing and India has strong capabilities to develop such technologies where startups have a significant role to play.
Shri Rajnath Singh said the Indian defence industry’s production was Rs 80,000 crore in 2018-19 of which Rs 16,000 crore was the contribution from the private sector.
Raksha Mantri said our nation is confidently scaling new heights based on strong political leadership strengthened by strategic economy. He called for a multi-pronged approach to achieve the aim of ‘Make in India’.
Earlier, in his welcome address, Secretary  Dr. Ajay Kumar said the roundtable has been organised to obtain views and suggestions from the industry to further improve the systems and procedures in the defence sector.
Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Shripad Yesso Naik, senior officials of the Ministry, Defence PSUs, OFB and CEOs & representatives of top Defence manufacturing companies were present on the occasion.
Ministry of Home Affairs
Giving Equal Importance to all Languages
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri G. Kishan Reddy, in a written reply to a question on One Nation-One Language, said that there is no proposal for one nation-one language and added that the Constitution accords equal importance to all the languages of the country.
The Minister also said that language matters are in the Concurrent List of the Constitution of India and are within the executive spheres of the Central Government and the respective State Governments.
The Minister noted that as per the information received from Ministry of Human Resource Development, grant are not released language wise by Ministry of Human Resource Development. The grants allocated during the last three years for the promotion and development of various languages are as under:

|
|
Organisations
|
|
2016-17
|
|
2017-18
|
|
2018-19
|
|
CHD
|
|
046.53
|
|
046.53
|
|
046.30
|
|
CIIL
|
|
040.50
|
|
040.50
|
|
040.07
|
|
CSTT
|
|
012.10
|
|
012.10
|
|
012.10
|
|
GPIL
|
|
293.15
|
|
355.50
|
|
415.25
CHD: Central Hindi Directorate, New Delhi
CIIL: Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore
CSTT: Commission for Scientific and Technical Terminology, New Delhi
GPIL: Grants for Promotion of Indian Languages which includes Sindhi, Urdu, Sanskrit, Hindi, Classical Tamil.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Recovery of more than 20,000 cases in the last 24 hours pushes the Recovery Rate to 63.24%
Recovered Cases close to 6 lakhs
Actual Case Load of COVID-19 is only 3,19,840 active cases
The last 24 hours have seen a sharp rise in the number of COVID-19 patients recovering. 20,572 people were cured which has taken the total number of recovered cases among COVID-19 patients to 5,92,031. The recovery rate has climbed up to 63.24% today.
The surge in recovered cases is driven by aggressive testing, timely diagnosis and effective management of the patients either through supervised home isolation or under active medical attention in the hospitals. The actual case load of COVID-19 is only 3,19,840 active cases. They are all under medical supervision. The norms and standards for Home Isolation along with use of oxymeters have helped to keep a check on the asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic patients without putting pressure on the hospital infrastructure.
The gap between recovered and active cases has been consistently growing. It stands at 2,72,191 today. The number of recovered cases outweighs the active cases by a factor of 1.85.
Medical infrastructure in India to treat COVID-19 patients includes 1378 Dedicated COVID Hospitals , 3077 Dedicated COVID Health Centres , and 10351 COVID Care Centres . They have a total of 21,738 ventilators, 46,487 ICU beds, and 1,65,361 Oxygen beds to treat COVID-19 patients.
The Central government has distributed 230.98 lakhs N95 masks, 123.56 lakhs PPEs and 11,660 ventilators to States/UTs/Central institutions to ensure effective clinical management of COVID-19.
For all authentic & updated information on COVID-19 related technical issues, guidelines & advisories please regularly visit: https://www.mohfw.gov.in/ and @MoHFW_INDIA .
Technical queries related to COVID-19 may be sent to technicalquery.covid19[at]gov[dot]in and other queries on ncov2019[at]gov[dot]in and @CovidIndiaSeva .
In case of any queries on COVID-19, please call at Ministry of Health & Family Welfare helpline no.: +91-11-23978046 or 1075 . List of helpline numbers of States/UTs on COVID-19 is also available at https://www.mohfw.gov.in/pdf/coronvavirushelplinenumber.pdf .
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
Cabinet approves Setting up Centre for Disability Sports at Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the proposal for setting up of a Centre for Disability Sports at Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, to be registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. It will function under the name of Centre for Disability Sports, Gwalior. Setting up of the Centre shall entail an estimated cost of Rs 170.99 crore, spread over a period of 5 years.
Impact:
Improved sports infrastructure created by this Centre will ensure effective participation of persons with disabilities in sports activities and also enable them to compete at national and international levels. Setting up of the Centre will develop a sense of belonging in Divyangjan to facilitate their integration in society.
Details:
For overall superintendence and supervision of the Centre, there will be a Governing Body consisting of members, not exceeding 12, with some serving in ex-offidocapacity and others coming in as experts from National Level Sports Federations apart from experts in para games.
Background:
Section 30 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities  Act, 2016, enjoins on the Government to take measures to ensure effective participation of Persons with Disabilities in sports activities which, inter-alia, includes provision of infrastructural facilities for sports activities for them. The Finance Minister in his Budget Speech of 2014-15 announced the setting up of a Centre for disability sports. At present no specialized sports training facilities for Divyangjan are available in the Country. This void is proposed to be filled up by setting up sports infrastructure so that persons with disabilities  can undergo rigorous and specialized training in this Centre.
Ministry of Civil Aviation
Over 39 tons of medical supplies delivered across the country on 7th April 2020 by Lifeline UDAN flights
Lifeline UDAN portal enables stakeholders to plan and track domestic essential air cargo movement
Lifeline UDAN flights transported 39.3 tons of medical supplies across the country on 7th April 2020. Total cargo transported by these flights is around 240 tons during Covid-19 lockdown. 161 flights have been operated under Lifeline UDAN till date covering 1,41,080 Kms. Out of these, 99 flights were operated by Air India and Alliance Air while 54 were operated by IAF. On international route, on 7th April 2020, Air India brought 6.14 tons of medical equipment from Hong Kong and further, Air India lifted 8.85 tons of supplies to Colombo.
Daily updates on Lifeline UDAN flights are available on the. dedicated Medical Air Cargo related website LIFELINE UDAN along with latest photographs. The link is available on the https://esahaj.gov.in/lifeline_udan. Details of fights and consignments are uploaded constantly by various agencies and Government entities which enables planning to be done effectively by coordinating and collating various details from the portal. Based on any challenges faced by the users, the portal is being updated and modified to suit the requirements and serve the purpose.
|
|
Date
|
|
Air India
|
|
Alliance
|
|
IAF
|
|
Indigo
|
|
SpiceJet
|
|
Total flights
|
|
07.4.2020
|
|
04
|
|
02
|
|
03
|
|
--
|
|
--
|
|
09
Air India and IAF collaborated primarily for J&K, Ladakh, North-East and other island regions.
Domestic Cargo Operators: Blue Dart, Spicejet and Indigo are operating cargo flights on commercial basis. Spicejet operated 203 cargo flights from 24 March – 7 April 2020 covering 2,77, 080 Kms and carrying 1647.59Tons of cargo. Out of these 55 were international cargo flights. Blue Dart operated 64 domestic cargo flights covering 62,245 Kms and carrying 951.73 Tons of cargo from 25 March – 7 April 2020. Indigo has also operated 8 cargo flights on 3 – 4 April 2020 covering 6103 Kms and carrying 3.14 tons of cargo.
Domestic cargo by Spicejet 
|
|
Date
|
|
No. of Flights
|
|
Tonnage
|
|
Kilometres
|
|
07-04-2020
|
|
12
|
|
96.89
|
|
13,634
International cargo by Spicejet 
|
|
Date
|
|
No. of Flights
|
|
Tonnage
|
|
Kilometres
|
|
07-04-2020
|
|
2
|
|
20.57
|
|
5,236
Blue Dart cargo uplift 
|
|
Date
|
|
No. of Flights
|
|
Tonnage
|
|
Kilometres
|
|
07-04-2020
|
|
6
|
|
89.600
|
|
7131.30
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
India registered its highest ever annual FDI Inflow of US $81.72 billion during the last financial year 2020-21
India has received FDI inflow worth US$ 440.01 billion which is 58 percent of the FDI reported in the last 21 years
Make in India is an initiative which was launched on 25thSeptember, 2014 to facilitate investment, foster innovation, build best in class infrastructure, and make India a hub for manufacturing, design, and innovation. Development of a robust manufacturing sector continues to be a key priority of the Indian Government. It was one of the first 'Vocal for Local' initiatives that exposed India's manufacturing domain to the world. The sector has the potential to not only take economic growth to a higher trajectory but also to provide employment to a large pool of our young labour force.
Make in India initiative has made significant achievements and presently focuses on 27 sectors under Make in India 2.0. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade is coordinating action plans for manufacturing sector, while Department of Commerce is coordinating service sector.
Activities under Make in India initiative are being undertaken by several Central and State Government departments from time to time. Programme specific data of such activities and details of foreign companies are not centrally maintained.
India has registered its highest ever annual FDI Inflow of US $81.72 billion  during the last financial year 2020-21 as compared to US $ 45.15 billion in 2014-2015. In the last seven financial years , India has received FDI inflow worth US$ 440.01 billion which is 58 percent of the FDI reported in the last 21 years . Year wise FDI inflow since 2014 is given in below table:
Table: Year wise FDI inflow since 2014-15
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|
Sl. No.
|
|
Year
|
|
FDI 
|
|
1
|
|
2014-15
|
|
45.15
|
|
2
|
|
2015-16
|
|
55.56
|
|
3
|
|
2016-17
|
|
60.22
|
|
4
|
|
2017-18
|
|
60.97
|
|
5
|
|
2018-19
|
|
62.00
|
|
6
|
|
2019-20 
|
|
74.39
|
|
7
|
|
2020-21 
|
|
81.72
: Data is Provisional. Subject to reconciliation with RBI
This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, ShriSomParkash, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Railways
Railway Board Member  Inspects Sports Facilities in Eastern Railway
Sh. Sanjeev Mittal, Member /Railway Board and President, Railway Sports Promotion Board  inspected the sports facilities available in Eastern Railway. During his visit to Kolkata, Sh. Mittal also interacted with athletes and coaches of various game disciplines. Sh. Mittal was accompanied by Sh, P.C. Lochab, Secretary/RSPB, President and General Secretary, Eastern Railway Sports Association  and other officers.
Mr. Sanjeev Mittal ,Member & President, RSPB with Mr.P.C.Lochab, Secretary, RSPB, Sh. A.K. Dubey, President, ERSA and Sh. P .Balalsundaram, Secretary, ERSA during the inspection
As a matter of fact, Indian Railways has a large pool of sportspersons, coaches and technical officials for various games and also a vast sports infrastructure in different Zonal Railways and Production Units across the country. Eastern Railway headquartered at Kolkata, also has some of the best facilities like those for Aquatics, cricket and Badminton among others. Member  Railway Board visited some of sports facilities in Eastern Railway and reviewed the plans for augmentation on 22nd March.
Sh. Mittal also visited the sports facility at Kacharapara. During his interaction with athletes and coaches and ERSA officials, Member  mentioned that the facilities like provision of synthetic track, football ground, lodging and boarding facilities are also required besides the augmentation of Gymnasium to match National standards.
Railway Board member also inspected the indoor facilities and cricket stadium at Behela. The indoor stadium at Behala can be used for conducting tournaments/championships of Volleyball, Basketball, Kabaddi and Badminton to name a few and can also be useful for hosting events involving mass congression. The inspection of the facilities for Aquatics at Behela was centred around the additions to convert it into an indoor pool with electronic touch pads, upgradation of the filtration system, Sauna, Steam and small pool for beginners. Development of the vacant land around this building for archery, gymnastics, power lifting, weight lifting, etc. was also discussed by the member with ERSA officials.
As a part of discussion during Board Member’s visit, it was mentioned that ERSA would engage Architects for planning out various facilities in Kolkata and will make proposals for realizing the plan.
Member  also inspected the facilities at Majerhat and discussed with Eastern Railway’s officers on the plan for making it the largest lodging and boarding facilities and development of a hockey ground and shooting range.
RKJ/M
(
President's Secretariat
President of India Addresses 15th Convocation of Symbiosis International University
The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, graced and addressed the 15th convocation of the Symbiosis International University in Pune today .
Speaking on the occasion, the President said it is a matter of pride for us that India has been a centre of learning for centuries. From Taxila to Nalanda, the subcontinent’s age-old universities attracted students from different parts of Asia and beyond. In modern times as well our campuses have been open to and welcoming of talented young people from many countries, especially those in our neighbourhood and in Africa – a continent with which we have a special relationship, shaped in classrooms.
The President said that it is worth noting that 46,144 international students from 166 countries study in various colleges, universities and institutions of higher learning in India. Symbiosis plays a significant role in this process. He was happy to note that over 1,000 international students study in Symbiosis. Of those who graduating today, 329 students are from 33 countries other than India. He said that this adds to the multicultural and cosmopolitan atmosphere of Symbiosis’s campus, and promotes goodwill among nations.
The President said that India has a massive network of 903 universities and 39,050 colleges. But the fact is there are still gaps in quality and in attaining world-class excellence across the spectrum. In this context, the government has taken a decision to promote and support 20 institutions of higher education as “institutes of eminence” – to grant them recruitment and curricula flexibility in order to reach best-in-class global standards. He urged administrators, professors and students and alumni of Symbiosis to aim to build and locate at least one such “institute of eminence” at their University.
Click here for the President's speech